Last Updated on January 26, 2024 by
Alternative to Meds Editorial Team
Medically Reviewed by Dr John Motl MD
Table of Contents:
What Are Bath Salts (Synthetic Cathinones)?
“Bath salts” is the unofficial “street name” for a group of designer drugs that typically contain synthetic cathinones, that cause stimulating effects comparable to cocaine and amphetamine. The white crystals often resemble Epsom salts or other legal bathing products. The drugs, nicknamed bath salts, are chemically nothing like actual bath products. We will discuss bath salts ADDICTION, WITHDRAWAL, and TREATMENT in the article below.
The packaging of synthetic cathinones often states “not for human consumption,” “jewelry cleaner,” or similar markings, in an effort to prevent the prohibition of the drugs. Street names for this drug include Bliss, Ivory, Wave, and Vanilla Sky. Cathinones have psychostimulant properties and are sourced from the “khat” plant that grows in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The leaves are generally chewed, or used in “tea.” Khat consumption in raw form is legal in these locations, where the drug is sold and consumed openly, but khat has been banned elsewhere in the world.6 The cathinones from the leaves are synthesized in the lab to make them into much more powerful stimulants, and it is these synthetic products that are referred to as “bath salts.”
Bath salts are typically ingested by snorting/sniffing. Bath salts can be smoked, consumed orally, or conjured into a solution that is injected into the veins. These compounds are highly addictive.
Because these drugs consist of an ever-changing array of different chemicals, the side effects and withdrawal effects can vary — depending on the chemical makeup of the batch ingested.
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